Diabetes Management in Coimbra

Healthcare in Coimbra: what visitors and residents should know

How local care works in Coimbra and across Centro, Portugal — and where an online doctor fits alongside it.

Coimbra is served by ULS de Coimbra, formed in the 2024 reorganisation around the city's university hospital centre together with the surrounding health centres. Portugal restructured its health service on 1 January 2024: the five regional health administrations (ARS) were dissolved and replaced by 39 Unidades Locais de Saúde (ULS), each combining hospitals and health centres under one management. For non-emergency symptoms the national triage line SNS 24 (808 24 24 24) assesses you by phone and directs you to self-care, a health centre or an emergency department. EHIC and UK GHIC holders access state care on resident terms. Out of hours, pharmacies run a rota — the farmácia de serviço — posted at every closed pharmacy. Coimbra is Portugal's principal medical and academic city: the University of Coimbra dates from 1290 and the city has long been the country's centre of medical training and tertiary referral, so specialist provision here is unusually deep for a city of its size and patients are referred in from across central Portugal. The flip side is a large transient student and international-exchange population — arriving each autumn, unregistered, needing contraception, repeat prescriptions and mental-health support in a second language. The city sits inland on the Mondego between Lisbon and Porto, so it is a common stopping point for travellers moving between the two, and its academic calendar rather than the tourist season drives the rhythm of demand.

• UNESCO World Heritage university
• Large international student population
• Central location between Lisbon and Porto

Areas we cover around Coimbra and Centro

An online consultation is not a substitute for emergency care. If you are in Coimbra and your symptoms are severe or life-threatening, call 112 or go to the nearest emergency department.